Michigan Premiere for On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW!
Contact:
Pitch:
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mike Ratel
Producer/director On Your Mark, Get Set, Mow!
Email: [email protected]
703 593-3582
Michigan Premiere for On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW!
Can the sport of lawn mower racing be used to help save lives?
Washington, DC, July 13 – Hollywood comes to Western Michigan as the town of Sparta plays host to the Michigan Premiere of a documentary film which shows how the sport of lawn mower racing is on the “cutting edge” in the battle of a deadly disease known as Huntington's. The Mikula family of Sparta, who are featured in the film, have been devastated by Huntington's disease and use the sport to raise research funds and awareness of the disease that has taken seven members of their immediate family. Through the use of on camera interviews with medical professionals, US congressmen, and Arlo Guthrie, who lost his father American folk icon Woody Guthrie to the disease, first time Washington, DC filmmaker Mike Ratel provides an layman's explanation of the disease and the efforts of policy makers to benefit those stricken by it.
Subtitled A Tale of Hope, Redemption, and Lawn Mower Racing, the documentary film is the result of five years of filming, research, and post production. After losing his Information Technology position in late 2008 Ratel financed continued production of the film by working odd jobs, selling personal items, and raising money via indiegogo.com and kickstarter.com. The film was edited by John Kinhart whose Blood, Boobs, and Beast was selected to screen at over twenty film festivals both domestically and internationally. Blood, Boobs, and Beast was named Best Documentary at the Coney Island Film Festival. On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW! World Premiered at the 2012 Washington, DC Independent Film Festival. Subsequent screenings have been held in Estacada, Oregon, Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, DC. User reviews and ratings on IMDb.com have been extremely strong and Filmthreat.com called it “a blast to watch”.
The Michigan Premiere of On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW! will kick off a weekend of lawn mower racing to raise money for the Huntington's Disease Society of America. Titled the Jim Keech Memorial Race for Huntington's Disease Research the annual event will take place on July 21 and 22 at the Paul C. Miller Airport in Sparta. Saturday gates open at 3:30 PM and on Sunday 1:30 PM. The film screening will take place Friday, July 20 at 8 PM at Sparta High School, 475 W. Spartan Dr. Admission to the film is free with donations for HDSA being collected for those who want to donate.
Sparta Mayor Skip Meyer had unanimous support from the town council in passing a resolution proclaiming Sparta to be renamed “MOW Town” during the weekend of “racing for a cure.”
Return to the Storybank Ideas
Comments, like all content, are held to The Rapidian standards of civility and open identity as outlined in our Terms of Use and Values Statement. We reserve the right to remove any content that does not hold to these standards.